Month: April 2018

Lets have a shake up today, its my pleasure to introduce you to the author S.D.Monaghan, then a wee treat in which I have the first chapter of his new book The Family At No.13. Lets crack on and see what we can find out about S.D Monaghan through his author bio.

Author Bio

S. D. Monaghan grew up in Dublin before travelling extensively in Asia, Europe and America. After teaching English in Thailand for two years, he moved back to Ireland and gained an honours degree in psychology. While living in Canada for four years, he studied screenwriting in Toronto. S. D. Monaghan completed the Masters in Creative Writing at Trinity College, Dublin with the editorial guidance of the Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Ford and Orange Prize nominee, Deirdre Madden. On the strength of his work there, he was chosen to represent both the university and the Oscar Wilde Writers’ Centre to read excerpts at the Dublin Publishers Festival and on Dublin Culture Night. He lives in Dublin with his wife, where he is currently working on his new novel. He is represented by Zoe Ross at United Agents.

Right so we have had a look at S.D.Monaghan’s author bio, giving us an insight into what he has accomplished over the years. He certainly has been busy academically and within his creative writing.

Before I give up the first chapter I thought I would let you see the cover of The Family At No.13 and take a look what’s in store for us in the synopsis.

Synopsis

The most perfect lives can hide the darkest secrets…

Mary has everything. Beautiful and rich, she lives on an exclusive street in the heart of the city, in a house with gorgeous views and an immaculately maintained garden. Her life looks perfect.

But behind closed doors the truth is very different. Her husband Andrew barely speaks to her, spending his days down in the basement alone. Her teenage nephew is full of rage, lashing out with no warning. Her carefully constructed life is beginning to fall apart.

And then someone starts sending Mary anonymous notes, threatening her and her family…

Everyone has secrets. But is someone at number 13 hiding something that could put the whole family in danger?

A twist-filled thriller with an ending that will shock you to the core. Perfect for fans of The Couple Next Door, Lies and Behind Closed Doors.

Okay its time, lets get the first chapter on the road, and see what S.D. Monaghan has in store for us…………..

CHAPTER ONE

THE DAY OF CONNOR

The blood welled up as a desolate cold crept into the wound like a ghost. Connor stared down at the corpse. It had a face he recognised; a face he knew too well. Then he nodded, his shocked body agreeing with his composed mind that – yes, a knife will do this to flesh. Connor gripped the camouflage-green handle, looked at the steel and then down to the injury as if finding it difficult to believe that this same tool had only moments before knifed spinewards
through reefs of ribs. For a moment, the blade glistened under the suburban street lights of St Catherine’s Hill before the shadows of the trees swallowed it, turning the bloodstain into an oily smear.

Connor delicately lifted the head, hoping to find a hint of life to comfort and yet also wanting to look, for a final time, upon that face that he had become so familiar with. He needed to keep the weight steady, not wanting to jolt it, as if there really was an expectation that a bleating whimper of hope would be detected.

But there was also an acceptance that this was the heaviest type of burden anyone would have to lift. Blood as thick as paint had already spilled across the driveway in a circular motif, while further away more of it was splattered about like an angry Jackson Pollock.

An upstairs bedroom window opened in the neighbouring
house and a woman leaned out to the usual quiet of St Catherine’s Hill. There was a stretch of silence as her brain processed exactly what she saw – and then she screamed, a penetrating and dismayed acknowledgement as to what lay, cruelly mutilated, on the driveway of number 13.

Connor stared up and intended to shout, but only a whisper emerged; ‘No. It wasn’t me. I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t here.’ Despite the rising panic, a flash of bullet points riddled a neat line across his brain:
I’ve been set up. From the very beginning.
Now no one will believe me. I’m completely and utterly fucked.

The woman once again shouted out to St Catherine’s Hill, this time making words. ‘Oh my God! Police. Someone call the police!’

Connor looked between the two driveway pillars topped with flashy stone griffins to the road outside. In a matter of minutes they’d be putting all their resources into finding him as quickly as possible. They had to. They knew that when a person killed once, they entered an existential realm where life was revealed to be nothing much and so to kill a few more would make no difference. Lights brightened the hallways of a few nearby houses.

The time has come for a brand spanking new debut book by Kerena Swan, now I know that when it comes to debuts its either going to hit the mark or be way wide of the mark, Dying To See You was a bullseye. I’m always a bit apprehensive giving new authors a try but we’ve all got to start some where right…… Kerena has hit the ground running and I certainly can’t wait until her next.

Any way enough of the sucking up, time to get down to the nitty gritty of this psychological thriller. As I’ve already pointed out that Dying To See You is a debut we shall crack on with a bit of what the book is all about.

Imagine the scenario, Sophie a single parent of two young girls, Ivy grandmother to Max, Max and Sophie meet through the care company Sophie is employed and Ivy needs care, a seemingly innocent relationship begins but is all as it seems. Sophie feels as if she is being watched, stalked. Women start to disappear a dark and twisted scene emerges, police are investigating the disappearances, then the full on creepiness starts to seep through the pages…. Sounds good doesn’t it.

The characters are well developed and its easy to get involved in their personas, and its plain to see that some times there are those ‘Really’ moments. I found myself thinking at times you honestly didn’t just ‘do or say that’ but that’s what makes these characters interesting as we are all guilty of having moments of idiocy.

Kerena has written in a style that makes it easy to follow the narrative, I found I didn’t lose the threads of the story as sometimes it can be difficult to gel with a new authors style, but the descriptive text was just right not overkill. Kerena painted a picture that develops the scene allowing me to feel as if I’m actually there amongst it all.

What a cracker of a debut.

Thanks to Bloodhound Books, Kerena Swan and Sarah Hardy for an advanced readers copy of Dying To See You, to read in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Thank you Sarah for the spot on the Blog Blitz.

Author Bio

Kerena lives on the Bedfordshire/Buckingham border with her husband, son and two cats. She also has two daughters and two granddaughters.

12 years ago, following a life-time career in social work and management, Kerena set up a company providing support for children with disabilities. Highly successful, the company is rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission, which Kerena considers her greatest achievement thus far. However, following serious illnesses last year she decided to attempt to fulfil her long-held ambition of writing a novel and getting it published. She has yet to tick off other achievements from her bucket list such as playing Moonlight Sonata on the piano all the way through and being stopped for speeding in a red Ferrari at the age of 80 but can tick off building a brick wall.

After many years of writing professionally in the course of her work, Kerena has discovered the exhilaration of writing fiction and can be found at all hours in front of her computer. Her husband (worried about his dinners being cooked) has threatened divorce if she writes another book so she’s told him she will write a trilogy.

‘Dying to See You’ is Kerena’s first novel and she has already started work on her second book ‘I Let You In’. Drawing on her extensive knowledge and experience in the problematic world of social work, Kerena adds a unique angle to the domestic noir genre

Blinking her eyes open, she looks around the room, taking in the bed and the wardrobe full of clothes she’s never seen before. This isn’t her bedroom. Those aren’t her clothes. She begins to cry as she wonders if she’ll ever see her own home again.

Three young girls are missing. All of them cold cases. All of them forgotten. But when Detective Jess Bishop identifies a disturbing link between them, she’s determined to find out what happened, and fights to re-open their cases.

At the scene of each abduction the kidnapper left a clue – a small bag of candy – in place of the missing child.

And then a fourth child is taken. Eight-year-old Ava is snatched from her hospital bed and when a bag of candy is found in her room, Jessica knows it’s the same kidnapper.

As the pressure to solve the case pushes Jess and her team to breaking point, Jess takes a personal risk she fears she’ll live to regret. But she has no choice.

Out of hospital, Ava can only get sicker: Jess is running out of time. Can she find Ava before it’s too late?

An absolutely gripping thriller that will have your pulse racing. Cross Your Heart is perfect for fans of Robert Dugoni, Karin Slaughter and Lisa Gardner.

Cross Your Heart, the second book in the Detective Jess Bishop series written by Kierney Scott and boy what follow-up to this incredible Detective Thriller Series.

Three cold cases, all young girls gone missing, the only link is a small bag of cotton candy, Detective Jess Bishop has happened across the cases whilst on medical leave, now she has returned, fighting to be heard, fighting to open the cold cases and delve deeper into the forgotten girls.

Bishop’s worst nightmare is realised when another child is snatched, the hunt is on to save Ava a young girl who is seriously ill, removed from her hospital bed. Jess and her team are forced almost to the very edge but time is not on there side.

It was strange to see Jess and Chan partnered up together but the friction with Jamieson due to the aftermath of his injury caused by Jess is almost palpable. Jess wants nothing more for Jamieson to forgive her, but are the bonds between them broken forever, only time will tell if they can ever work together again. Even so the interaction between Chan and Jess is hilarious at times but he can be quite a handful and Jess struggles with his standoffish behaviour. Although the team is divided and some what lack confidence in Jess, they still band together to catch the person behind the blue cotton candy.

Trauma from Jess’s childhood and her recent injury, bubbles under the surface threatening to boil over no matter how much she tries to dampen it down with her secret means of coping, is Jess going to go to far, is she close to losing her self worth, only time will tell.

Cross Your Heart is an astounding piece of work, a throat clenching, emotional thriller which sent my heart racing to the point I was sobbing my heart out at one stage, Kierney utterly floored me with Cross your heart.

Thanks to Bookouture, Kierney Scott, and Noelle Holten for the advanced readers copy of Cross Your Heart to read in exchange for an unbiased honest opinion.

Author Bio

Originally from California, Kierney Scott lives in Edinburgh, Scotland with her husband and their daughter.

In her spare time she likes to read and invent new recipes. Her stuffed peppers are particularly popular with her family, as are her grain-free chocolate chip cookies. In an effort to convert her family to the joys of pumpkin, she created the Great Pumpkin Challenge. For the ten weeks before Thanksgiving, they tried a new pumpkin recipe every week. Pumpkin arancini and pumpkin queso were a big hit. She has promised her daughter to never again roast pumpkin and call them chips.

She loves hearing from readers. If you would like to get in touch, you can emai

Alexandra Inglis is a respected family doctor, trusted by her patients to keep their most intimate secrets. And if sometimes the boundaries between duty and desire blur… well, she’s only human.

But when Alex oversteps a line with Jonathan, one of her patients, she knows she’s gone too far. Jonathan is obsessive, and to get what he wants he will tear Alex’s world apart – threatening not only her career but her marriage and family too.

Soon Alex finds she’s capable of doing almost anything to keep hold of her perfect life, as it begins to spin dangerously out of her control…

A darkly gripping domestic drama of secrets and lies, from the bestselling author of The Daughter. Perfect for fans of Big Little Lies, Louise Jensen and The Couple Next Door.

White Lies by Lucy Dawson an extraordinary psychological thriller which will have your imagination in turmoil as the pages turn and the end nears.

White lies is centred around two main characters, Alex Inglis, a family Doctor and Jonathan a 17 year patient of the practice in which Alex is a Doctor. Unbeknown to Alex Boundaries and Ethics are crossed as she has slept with a young man whilst under the influence and in a drunken stupor. What was meant to be a fun girls holiday turns sour. When on her return home Alex tries to expel her guilt by telling her husband of her infidelity with this anonymous person, whom she thinks she will never meet again.

How wrong could she be!

Alex has much too lose, her husband, her children and her career when it becomes apparent who this young man is. Jonathan on the other hand develops an obsession with Alex commanding her attention by any means necessary to the point he becomes like a stalker, who are you to believe and how far will they go.

Its unbelievable how a person can be so gullible in believing this one night stand wouldn’t come back and bite them on the backside, its a shameful act which has been easily developed into a he said/ she said scenario. Batting back and forth the reactions of the main characters and their counterparts, the twists and turns unfold in a multitude of ways that never falter, driving you deeper into the thriller, peeling back the layers of scrupulous White Lies.

This is a psychological thriller which is well written and challenges you with every page turn, Lucy has managed to infiltrate my mind leaving me perplexed as to where I took the wrong turn, I’m glad though as it gave a high end impact which blew me away.

Thank you to Bookouture, Lucy Dawson and Kim Nash for the advanced readers copy of White Lies and to be given the opportunity to be able to read and review for the Blog Tour.

Author Bio

I’ve been writing psychological suspense novels since 2008, when my first bestseller – His Other Lover – was published. I write full time (mostly on the playroom sofa) from my home in Devon, where I live with my husband and children. Before that, I used to interview the likes of Steps and SClub7 for a living, making absolutely no use whatsoever of my psychology degree from Warwick University, but it was a lot of fun.

I’m addicted to writing about the extraordinary things that can happen to ordinary people – I like stories that jump in at the deep end, with a gasp. When readers take the time out to let me know they’ve stayed up all night because they couldn’t put the book down, it makes my day.

I really enjoy catching up with readers and always reply to emails. You can reach me at lucy@lucydawsonbooks.com. I’m also on Twitter @lucydawsonbooks and have a Facebook page at lucydawsonbooks. Alternatively you can download a free short story of mine at www.lucydawsonbooks.com or if you want to look at a lot of pictures of the beach and books that I’m reading, find me on Instagram at lucydawsonbooks.

#BlogTour: THE LAST FRIEND by HARVEY CHURCH #Lastseries @HarveyChurch1 @CarolineBookBit

The Last Friend – Harvey Church

Book Synopsis

The Knock on his Door…That Changed his Life

Fifteen years after Donovan’s daughter is abducted, Monica Russell knocks on his door. She claims she knew his daughter while in captivity and says she made a promise to tell him about their friendship.

The Last Friend to hold His Daughter’s Hand

When Monica claims to know where his daughter’s remains are buried, Donovan is immediately committed to doing whatever this last friend needs from him, regardless of the warnings from his family and friends.

The Friend Who Can Help Him Seek Vengeance

And when Monica claims to know where he can find the man who abducted, assaulted, and murdered his princess, Donovan knows he will stop at nothing to get his vengeance.

What Cost Will He Ultimately Pay?

Monica claims she can show Donovan a lot of things about his daughter, but what price will Donovan ultimately pay the young lady who claims to be the last friend to know his daughter?

Review Quotes

“An unexpected and exciting series of events that will grab readers.” -The Booklife Prize
“The short chapters and fast pacing coupled with an intriguing storyline made this a page turner that I could not put down.” – novelgossip.com
“There’s no way to read this and not feel the gravity of it.” 5-star review, an Amazon reader
“You know it’s a 5-star book when you can’t put it down and stay up way too late reading!” 5-star review by an Amazon reader
“This book was a fast read . . . if you like psychological thrillers, then this will be right up your alley!” Goodreads Reviewer
“The plot hummed along at an incredible rate.” 5-star review by an Amazon reader

The Last Friend by Harvey Church is the first instalment in the new Last Series and what an opener, a real eye opener.

We meet Donovan Glass a man alone, who has isolated himself, to the point of being a recluse unable to move forward after the abduction of his daughter Elizabeth and the death of his wife. 15 years its been of not knowing, is Elizabeth alive or dead, has his prayers been answered when a supposed friend appears on the scene with information, Monica knows things that could only have come from Elizabeth, but is Monica trustworthy.

Over the years, all traces and trails have gone cold, the FBI have drawn a blank, Donovan himself has gone to the brink in dangerous situations to try and obtain answers to his daughters abduction but to no avail.

Has Monica really got the answers or is there an ulterior motive, but why when relaying to Donovan is there always a perpetual pause in what she reveals. Has Monica a motive, how far will Donovan go to seek the truth about what happened to Elizabeth. Holy shit is there’s a lot of grit in waiting for answers, my heart was pounding as everything began to unfold. Even so, ultimately for me was the nagging doubt that Monica was holding back…..

There is an intense emotional chain of events which Donovan and Monica bear the emotional scars, are they playing a dangerous game, how much darkness will unfold, Harvey manages to propel me through the book at rocket speed, turning the pages faster and faster until the very last page.

Not the usual kidnapping/abduction story but damn it was good, Harvey managed to hold my attention and I had so many questions, The Last Friend is my type of book, the puzzle, the pieces, the connections I tried to make…… WoW.

My thanks go out to Caroline for offering me a spot on the Blog Tour for this fantastic new book, its been a pleasure, thank you also to Harvey Church for writing The Last Friend it was an awesome read, looking forward to many more.

Harvey Church– Author Bio –

Harvey Church has a background in finance, which is how he found himself writing about the people and ridiculousness (sometimes the same thing) of that field in his Edwin Burrows light mystery series. Although he considers himself retired from that field (aka not working), he’s planning another three Edwin Burrows novels for 2018.

His first “serious” novel, The Last Friend, is a Kindle Scout writing competition winner and was published by Kindle Press on January 9, 2018. The BookLife Prize called it “an entertaining read for mystery and thriller fans alike,” and said it is “an unexpected and exciting series of events that will grab readers.” Harvey plans two sister novels to The Last Friend in 2018, one titled The Last Night (Spring 2018) and the other tentatively titled The Last Survivor.

For fun, Harvey likes to practice street magic and spends hours engineering tricks to wow his audiences. He is also an avid hockey fan (Go Leafs Go). He has a wife and two kids. His favourite colour is blue, but he drives a black car because he read somewhere, back in the 90’s, that radar detectors have a tough time seeing them. Interestingly, he never speeds because he’s too busy singing like nobody’s watching, or maybe it’s that everybody is deaf.
He’s a supporter of double-chins, double-dates, and double-dipping (though never on double-dates), and obviously enjoys writing about himself in the third person, in the voice of the narrator from The Royal Tenenbaums.
Connect with Harvey Church by searching Harvey Church Mysteries on Facebook, at @hashtag_harv on Instagram, and @harveychurch1 on Twitter. You can also find him wandering the streets of Chicago, Toronto, Montreal or the Lido deck of a Princess Cruise ship. If you ever meet Harv, ask to see a magic trick!
Don’t forget to sign up for his email list at AListHarvey.com

Detective Josie Quinn is horrified when she’s called to the house of a mother who had her newborn baby snatched from her arms.

A woman caught fleeing the scene is Josie’s only lead, but when questioned it seems this mysterious girl doesn’t know who she is, where she’s from or why she is so terrified…

Is she a witness, a suspect, or the next victim?

As Josie digs deeper, a letter about a mix-up at a fertility clinic links the nameless girl and the missing child to a spate of killings across the county. Josie is faced with an impossible decision: should she risk the life of one innocent child to save many others… or can she find another way?

The Girl With No Name is nail-biting, twisty and impossible to put down. If you love gripping thrillers from Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni and Rachel Caine, you’ll be hooked.

The Girl With No Name, the second in the Detective Josie Quinn series written by Lisa Regan, an impressionable book which could easily be read as a standalone. I’ve had the pleasure to recently discover Lisa’s books and wasn’t disappointed and I hope that you will jump on the Josie Quinn trail with me.

Josie’s day off is interrupted by a call, a woman has been attacked and a newborn baby has gone missing. There is one person who holds the key but a bout of amnesia has stopped Josie dead in her tracks with the investigation, is this woman lying, hiding the truth or has she genuinely no memory of the days events. Josie and her team fight hard to find the baby but corruption, dead ends and a lack of witnesses make it a tiresome slog, can they close the investigation and bring the baby home before more people are harmed.

I was so pleased to have found out more about Josie, through her personal and work life, Josie is a strong, gritty and honest character even though she has a blighted past. As the book unfolds its apparent that we have been given insight into Josie’s past but there is more to be brought to light and I certainly look forward to finding out in the next book.

Lisa has littered the path throughout the book with traps invariably I literally fell for them each time. I really need to try and see into the mind of an author and unpick the threads which tangle up within my own imagination, definitely a sign of fantastic author who knows how to drag a reader through the mill.

Want to read a fast-paced, gripping criminal thriller grab yourself a copy of The Girl With No Name, Lisa Regan compounded every need and desire I required from a thriller, it was bang on.

Thanks to Bookouture, Lisa Regan and Noelle Holten for the advanced readers copy of The Girl With No Name in exchange for an honest review. Thanks again to Noelle for my part in the Blog Blitz its been a pleasure.

Author Bio

Lisa Regan is an Amazon bestselling crime novelist. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Master of Education Degree from Bloomsburg University. She is a member of Sisters In Crime, Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and daughter. Find out more at her website: www.lisaregan.com

Emma wakes up in hospital with no memories of the past 24 hours and no idea why she’s there. And her husband and son refuse to visit her.

As she frantically tries to piece together her memories to find out what happened, Emma is desperate to ensure her loved ones are safe. But all she can remember is the last thing she saw before she blacked out: a pair of cold, dark eyes…

An addictive and page-turning psychological thriller that will having you looking over your shoulder and checking the doors are locked. If you love B.A. Paris, Shari Lapena and K.L. Slater, The Last Thing I Saw is for you.

‘The Last Thing I Saw’ a flash, a memory, hidden deep within, a monumental opening which will irreparably haunt your memory.

The Last Thing I Saw written by Alex Sinclair, is an explosive tangle of greed, jealously and family ties all akin to a serendipitous encounter which has been locked away in the dark recesses of a fragile mind.

Emma a seemingly normal mother and wife awakens in a psychiatric hospital with no memory of how she arrived there. No family visit, no son, no husband what has she done, why is no-one telling her. The path that Emma follows with the guidance of a Doctor Shaw, unlocks the boxes, delving deeper into the darkness in which Emma has tried to bury. Can Dr.Shaw restore Emma’s memory without destroying her in the process.

With every page turn, the tug at my intuition for recalling what Alex had in store, ebbed and flowed with the tide of false paths that I travelled down, to be met with a new reason to be wrong. Alex manage to drive the plot with ease, dropping in falsified facts which I invariably fell for time and time again.

The Last Thing I Saw invariably is a book which will open your eyes and drive you round the bend looking for answers which are littered throughout the book, but piecing them together is ultimately the hardest part.

Thank you to Bookouture, Alex Sinclair and Noelle Holten for the opportunity to read and review an advanced readers copy of The Last Thing I Saw in exchange for an honest review.

Author Bio

Alex Sinclair is a thirty-two-year-old psychological thriller author from a quiet country town outside of Melbourne, Australia. He currently works full-time for a small business and writes in the early hours of the morning before his daughter and wife wake up for the day.

Alex has a background in IT, bookkeeping, and 3D animation. He loves all things creative but especially loves writing. He is an avid reader of all genres, but loves psychological thrillers more than anything else. He also has a passion for good storytelling in all forms of media such as addictive TV shows and movies.

If you could discover the murderous truth of a past life and seek justice in this one, would you?

Teenager Lee Hunter doesn’t have a choice when he nearly drowns after spending the night at a derelict boathouse with his best friend, Charlie Finch. After leaving his body and meeting a mysterious light that lets him to go back to the past, Lee finds himself reliving the final days of another life. A life that ended tragically.

After recovering from his near death experience, Lee begins to realise that he is part of two lives linked by the despicable actions of one man.

Struggling against impossible odds, Lee and Charlie set out to bring this man to justice.

Will Lee be able to unlock the past and bring justice to the future?

The Key to Death’s Door is a story of sacrifice, friendship, loyalty and murder.

Well, well, well Mark Tilbury, The Key To Death’s Door, newest publication OMG, OMFG an absolute stoater of a read, the intensity of the writing swelled within my imagination and blew me away.

Try as I may I will never be able to describe the plotline to you, the synopsis says it all, if I gave you much more I would probably bamboozle you, leaving you with a pickled brain, hahahaha. What I will tell you is the framework surrounding Mark Tilbury’s imagination is like no other, a definite surreal narrative which I’m astounded that he can accomplish. The dark and disturbing sequence of events gel naturally together forming an impervious and heinous piece of fiction.

The Key To Death’s Door revolves around two boys, Lee and Charlie, a subjective tale of an outer body experience with the twisting formulation of supernatural/paranormal flair. With this in mind I revelled in the book even though some themes were distressing, such as the systematic abuse of family and the harrowing choices that are made.

Reflecting on the whole book its easy to lose yourself in the aftermath, in my case I just couldn’t get The Key To Death’s Door out of my head, I mulled it over, flipped it, delved a bit more into all that Mark perceived in the book in which he left a frenzied imprint stamped in my imagination.

A dark, disturbing, horrifically well crafted and impressionable book.

Thanks go to Mark Tilbury, BloodHound Books and Sarah Hardy for an advanced readers copy of The Key To Death’s Door, in exchange for an honest review.

One more thing Mark can you do me a favour, please write quickly, don’t know if I can wait an age for another.

Author Bio

Mark lives in a small village in the lovely county of Cumbria, although his books are set in Oxfordshire where he was born and raised.

After serving in the Royal Navy and raising his two daughters after being widowed, Mark finally took the plunge and self-published two books on Amazon, The Revelation Room and The Eyes of the Accused.

He’s always had a keen interest in writing, and is extremely proud to have his fifth novel, The Key to Death’s Door published along with The Liar’s Promise, The Abattoir of Dreams, and The Ben Whittle Investigations re-launched, by Bloodhound Books.

When he’s not writing, Mark can be found trying and failing to master blues guitar, and taking walks around the beautiful county of Cumbria.

On an icy morning, a mother wakes to find her daughter’s blood-soaked body frozen to the road. Who would carry out such a killing on the victim’s doorstep?

Straight off her last harrowing case, Detective Erika Foster is feeling fragile but determined to lead the investigation. As she sets to work, she finds reports of assaults in the same quiet South London suburb where the woman was killed. One chilling detail links them to the murder victim – they were all attacked by a figure in black wearing a gas mask.

Erika is on the hunt for a killer with a terrifying calling card. The case gets more complicated when she uncovers a tangled web of secrets surrounding the death of the beautiful young woman.

Yet just as Erika begins to piece the clues together, she is forced to confront painful memories of her past. Erika must dig deep, stay focused and find the killer. Only this time, one of her own is in terrible danger…

From the global million-copy bestselling author comes a totally heart-racing, hold-your-breath read that will keep you hooked until the very last page.

Where the hell do I start, Deadly Secrets OMFG absolutely banging. Robert Bryndza has hauled my senses through the pages and saturated my imagination with bites of thrilling, gobsmacking, intensely chilling Deadly Secrets.

Deadly Secrets is the sixth book in the Detective Erika Foster series written by the sensational Robert Bryndza, even though Deadly Secrets has enough backstory to be read as a standalone I would highly recommend reading from the beginning, so don’t miss out.

Robert Bryndza opens with a highly intense, earth shattering incident where a young woman is found dead outside her own home on Christmas Day, soaked in her own blood, frozen to the ground with no clues or DNA. Erika has her work cut out for her in a festive period surrounded in darkness, each new piece chilling my soul as it meanders along traversing the acts of a nefarious, villainous criminal.

A person clad in black clothing wearing a gas mask, inflicting a terrifying attack on his victims, inducing fear into people, leaving the community apprehensive of what’s to come. Are both cases connected…….only time will tell.

As the pages unfold I learned more about Erika her demeanour changes when a crisis occurs within her family, she shows a more compassionate, tolerant humane side, realising that distancing herself from family prevents her from moving on with her life. Erika is still a hard nut to crack, a strong tight minded individual who will stop at nothing to seal a case shut, driving herself and others with a steely conviction no matter the consequences.

Realistically the case delivers a sucker punch which will have you looking over your shoulder, driving a force which will have you scrutinising every corner of your mind, untangling the secrets only to become embroiled in another conundrum. Robert Bryndza has floored me with his ability to strengthen Deadly Secrets with an insane knot of criminal twists, which diverted my attention from the stonker of an ending, hell I didn’t see that coming.

Deadly Secrets will keep you up all night, driving your imagination forward until the final page.

My thanks go to Robert Bryndza, Bookouture and Noelle Holten for the advanced readers copy of Deadly Secrets in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Author Bio

Robert Bryndza is the author of the international #1 bestseller The Girl in the Ice, which is the first in his Detective Erika Foster series.

The Night Stalker, Dark Water, Last Breath and Cold Blood are the second, third, fourth and fifth books in the series. The sixth book, Deadly Secrets is now available to purchase.

Robert’s books have sold over 2 million copies and have been translated into 27 languages.

In addition to writing crime fiction, Robert has published a bestselling series of romantic comedy novels. He is British and lives in Slovakia.

The day has come for my opportunity to shout out about the phenomenal new book by John Nicholl, When Evil Calls Your Name, Wow WoW WoW how loud can I shout, Hurry Up Go Buy This Book!

Synopsis

Even the darkest secrets can’t stay hidden forever…

When twenty-nine-year-old Cynthia Galbraith struggles to come to terms with her traumatic past and the realities of prison life, a prison counsellor persuades her to write a diary exploring the events that led to a life sentence for murder.

Although unconvinced at first, Cynthia finally decides she has all the time in the world and very little, if anything, to lose. As she begins writing she holds back nothing: sharing the thoughts she hadn’t dare vocalise, the things that keep her awake at night and haunt her waking hours.

I’m literally bursting with excitement over John Nicholls newest book When Evil Calls Your Name, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy and it didn’t disappoint in fact I could scream and shout about how much I revelled in this immense psychological thriller.

First and foremost the most important thing is to read the first book White Is The Coldest Colour as this is the start of the Dr David Galbraith Series, its imperative you do so as the two books link together.

Now lets get down to it….

John sets off in a very different direction when writing When Evil Calls your Name, I wondered if it was for me, I can hold my hands up and say I was unsure to begin with, but my doubts were unfounded. The book unfolds with Cynthia incarcerated for murder, there was the first OMG for me, why, she had nothing do with it all she was a victim.

John has written in the first person with Cynthia writing a diary of how she came to be in prison, from meeting Galbraith until her current situation. I couldn’t fathom how such a bubbly outgoing personality could be intimidated and coerced into becoming a person with no control over her life. Really felt like screaming at Cynthia to stop falling for his lies and to fight for her sense of worth. Galbraith a predator, takes all Cynthia’s worth and destroys her very soul.

When reading the first book in the series White Is The Coldest Colour, nothing much was conveyed of Cynthia, Galbraith was the headline act in the first but in taking on the second in the series, its been an eye opener finding out about Cynthia. I thoroughly enjoyed looking at how a person can be easily fooled by persuasion, a little flirting and complementary comments went along way to bring about Cynthia’s downfall.

Once finished reading When Evil Calls Your Name, I sat with a smug smile on my face thinking we got you Galbraith, but then I thought where next, what has John Nicholl got planned for us next…….. will there be more, what’s the possibilities.

Thanks go to Bloodhound Books, John Nicholl and Sarah Hardy for an advanced readers copy of When Evil Calls Your Name to read in exchange for an honest review. I look to forward to whatever John has in store for us next.

Author Bio

John Nicholl, an ex-police officer, child protection social worker and lecturer, writes popular dark psychological suspense thrillers, each of which has been an Amazon international bestseller, reaching # 1 in multiple categories in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Australia, Canada and the USA. John is happily married, lives in rural west Wales, and has three adult children and one grandchild. He began writing after leaving his job heading up child protection services for Carmarthenshire. A Cold Cold Heart, John’s sixth book, is published by Bloodhound Books in January 2018. John is represented by Toby Mundy – Literary agent at TMA.